Mr Titanic
Spirit of the Night
Location: Gotham City
Posts: 1356
Rivets: 13 (+13/-0)
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The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam
<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v81/Titanic_Soul/rayt.gif" align="left"> AWAKE! For morning in the bowl of night Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight…
These immortal words, written by the Persian poet Omar Khayyam greet ones attention as the very first verse in what was perhaps his most notable work - the Rubáiyát. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald in 1859, the book was essentially written between the years of 1258-82.
In 1911, the all-famous bookbinding company known as 'Sangorski & Sutcliffe' with much effort, spent two years reproducing an intricate copy of the book. Many would argue it was certainly their most extravagant effort to date. On March 29, 1912 Gabriel Weis won the Rubiayat at Sotheby's (London) auction house for $2,025 (405 Pounds).
Vivid illustrations by Eliku Vedder adorn the passages of medieval poetry within the book. However, what was the most compelling aspect of the book itself was its exceedingly ornate binding. The book was bound in fine morocco leather and inlaid with a pea**** design beneath elaborate arches, engulfed by grape vines giving the book an exotic appeal. It's cover was encrusted with anywhere from 1050 to 1500 precious stones including Rubies, Garnets, Topaz and Amethysts. Each individual stone was set in 18-karat Gold. Wood, Ivory and Gold Leaf were boasted as other components of this volume's elaborate decoration.
Unfortunately, on the night of April 14th the book was lost aboard the White Star Line's new luxury liner 'Titanic.' No one has laid eyes on it since. Its estimated current value (excluding the fact it was ever on the Titanic) would be no less than 40,000 US dollars. With that idea in mind, the book being part of the Titanic's debris would certainly guarantee it priceless status, if found.
In 1986, Robert Ballard whose team found the Titanic wreck was exploring the site for himself, when he came across one of the purser's safes (NOTE: Dr. Pellegrino charts this safe in his "Ghosts of the Titanic" Debris Field Map). With an attempt to find the book, he jingled the handle and was unable to open the safe and find the famous collection of Poetry. It has been an object of fascination since the New York Times reported its loss aboard the doomed liner following the disaster. Those with an eye for symbolism should note these phrases within the book:
Quote:
Verse 16:
The Worldly Hope Men Set Their Hearts Upon
Turns ashes - or it prospers, and anon,
Like Snow upon the Desert's Dusty Face,
Lighting a little hour or two - is gone.
Verse 33:
Earth could not answer, nor the Seas that mourn
In flowing purple of their Lord forlorn,
Nor rolling heaven, with all his signs revealed,
And hidden by the sleeve of Night and Morn.
What, without asking hither hurried whence?
And, without asking, wither hurried hence!
Another and another cup to drown
a memory of this impertinence!
Several Images of the book exist. The copy that went down with the Titanic was as follows:
A novel titled "Omar" by Craig O. Thompson centers around the attempt to find the book in order to fund a terrorist plot, and an American team under Robert Ballard are set out to salvage the book before the opposing team can get their hands on it. The cover gives a fine color illustration of what the Rubaiyat would have truly looked like.
Another fine example (keep in mind a slightly different design) is as follows as well:
However, the art of luxurious book binding is not just reserved to the Rubaiyat. Dating back to when books were not as common as they are today, or even as common as they were in 1912, books were often encased in expensive material just as the Rubaiyat was as well. It is an old tradition of praising books when they were of high value. Kings and other such royalty could only afford books at one point in time (I would guess the 18th - 19th Century). However, in the words of the New York Times after Titanic sank, the Rubaiyat was "the most remarkable specimen of binding ever produced."
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Aug/15/2006, 3:41 pm
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Topic 
TSOLD's time is: Nov/28/2009, 5:36 am